


Angel In Disguise

by Enx2103



Series: Best of Snap Shots [12]
Category: Life with Derek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angels, F/M, Gods, Soul Bond, Soulmates, higher being
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:08:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26707258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enx2103/pseuds/Enx2103
Summary: Finding her… god finding her was like learning how to breathe again, and not understanding how he had been able to function beforehand.
Relationships: Casey McDonald & Derek Venturi, Casey McDonald/Derek Venturi
Series: Best of Snap Shots [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1644280
Comments: 13
Kudos: 36





	Angel In Disguise

**Author's Note:**

> “Never knew I needed you.  
> Before I found you for the first time.”
> 
> Angel by Finneas

Derek desperately hated this part. It never got easy, no matter how many times they went through it together...

She was staring at him, eyes blazing wild, hyperventilating, in full-blown shock. He tried his best to be understanding. He really did. But he was on the other side of it. He always was. He would never be able to fully grasp what she was going through and vice versa. 

She was his soulmate. In the very literal sense. And every lifetime he had, every body he got pushed into, he  _ always _ found her. He’d always remember. And she… would not. He was sure it was some sick cosmic joke the universe played on him. (He must have done something wrong his first time around.) But every time, every lifetime, every body, he’d find her and make her fall in love with him time and time again.    
  
Romeo and Juliet had  _ nothing _ on them.

His only saving grace, the only thing that kept him sane was the fact that he knew she’d come around.  _ Eventually _ . Sometimes it only took minutes...sometimes days. But she got there. She always did. 

But in the thick of it… her initial denial and hysteria? Yeah, the beginning was always rough. It always killed a little piece of him. Her blatant rejection of him would never  _ not _ hurt. 

“No. No. Nonono. No!” she mumbled to herself as she paced the length of her bedroom. He had almost tuned her out, wanting to fast forward and get straight to the part where she  _ believed _ him. To when she would remember...

“Casey,” he tried to say her name like it was a  _ reason _ . Like it explained everything. 

Sometimes it was easy. She was a woman picking apples at the grocery store. Or a man he bumped into at a concert. They were pushed into any body, any race, any sexuality, and gender identity. But none of it ever mattered, because their souls were literally meant to be.    
  
But sometimes... it was harder. Like when he was reincarnated as Derek Venturi and his dad married her mom, making her his stepsister. It was awkward and clumsy, hard as  _ fuck _ to maneuver. 

Finding her…  _ god _ finding her was like learning how to breathe again, and not understanding how he had been able to function beforehand. 

The thing was, he tried to ignore the pull of their souls  _ aching _ to be together. He tried to ignore the way his heart longed to be near her. But the longer he denied it, the longer he let it play out, the more it hurt. His body physically became weaker when he was away from her. Not metaphorically, not like some angsty teenage bullshit. No. It actually weakened him. He had died a few times denying the bond.

So he tried his best to help her through it. “Just breathe for a second. Let yourself think,” he coaxed her. He knew once she calmed down, once she relaxed, the memories would come bubbling to the surface. She often passed out when it happened. But he was always nearby to catch her. She was a klutz in every lifetime. 

“No,” she whispered once more, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“It’s ok,” he promised. Because it was. For however long they had in those bodies. He had found her, he always would.    


“Derek, I…” she trailed off, stumbling in front of him. Her body no longer looked furious but  _ weak _ . It was happening. She was remembering. 

Derek jumped up from his seat at her desk. “I've got you,” he told her, catching her swaying body in his strong arms. Gently he helped her to bed, making sure she was comfortable for what laid ahead.

His step-sister. What kind of sick joke? At least, at the very least, she wasn’t his _actual_ sister. He probably would have had to call it quits for that lifetime. Restart and start fresh in new bodies.

Slowly, her blue eyes fluttered shut, her lips paled, and she was gone for a little bit... He wasn’t worried. She’d always come back to him. And he’d always wait.

When she came to, he was holding her hand, brushing the hair out her face. They were about to leave for Queens. At least they had that. He had managed to hold on for that long. 

“You’re back,” he smiled down at the love of his life. His first genuine smile in a long, long time.

“ _ Derek _ ,” she said his name. It was the same name she had screamed an hour ago when he had broken his facade and finally just kissed her. But this time it sounded different. It was the voice of his soulmate recognizing him for the first time in her new body. “You found me,” she added, blue eyes swelling with pride and tears. She reached out a hand to cover his. 

“As if there was ever any doubt,” he smirked squeezing her hand.   
  
He had found her in all 34 lifetimes. And he would find her in a hundred more. Sometimes he'd feel the pull, across the globe. He had found her in India once, covered in colors celebrating Holi. And in Iceland another time, under the northern lights. Once she was a girl in pigtails at the playground, they built sandcastles together. Every single time was magical in its own right. Even this one.   
  
“How long?” she asked, squinting to help organize her thoughts. Her memories were blurring together. Every lifetime became one big blob in her mind. She always needed his help the first few days till she settled into her new life.   
  
Derek sucked in a breath. It was never an easy answer. “Sixteen to find you….Eighteen to get you back,” he answered honestly.

Casey cringed, understanding what that meant for him. Sixteen years without her made him weak. But the two years to get her back… That was pure torture. “I'm so,  _ so _ sorry my love,” she apologized, bringing his hand to her mouth, pressing her lips to his knuckles in pure sincerity.

Derek just shook his head. She didn't need to say a thing. It didn't matter. She was back and he could breathe once again. “Don't be. We’re going off to university soon,” he reminded her gently. There they would be alone, without their family. They could be openly in love and  _ together _ .   
  
Casey was quiet for a second. Taking it all in. “You know... it normally doesn't take you  _ that _ long to get me to fall in love with you,” she teased him. “Two years? You’re losing your touch,” she smiled up at him with adoration in her eyes. She was looking at him, really seeing him for the first time. Being under her gaze felt  unbelievable ; like he was her whole world. He couldn't help but smile back at her and make her feel the same way.

“You fell in love with me at sixteen, princess!” he scoffed, not letting the comment go unanswered. “I just couldn't  _ kiss _ you because…” he trailed off looking around the room as if it were an explanation.   
  
She followed his gaze and then looked down at herself, drinking in every detail one by one. “Casey McDonald,” she tasted the name on her tongue, committing it to memory. “Your…  _ stepsister _ ?” she laughed out loud. Her face scrunching together, a hand holding her tummy because she simply could not believe it. Derek rolled his eyes. Of course, she’d find it funny. He didn’t seem to agree. Not after those two years together.    
  
Eventually, her laughter died down and she just smiled, with glassy eyes. “ _ Wow _ ,” she whispered to herself looking upwards as if she was laughing at the universe for doing that to them. “They sure do keep it interesting, that’s for sure,” she added, looking to him again.   
  
Derek smiled watching her carefully. He was happy to see he was no longer alone in the world. He had found his other half and she had come back to him. She truly was an angel, and he was so lucky to have her. “God, I missed you,” he murmured, mostly to himself. And then he did what he had been wanting to do for a long, long time...   
  
He bent down, carefully cupping her cheek like she was fragile and he were afraid to break her. And then he pressed a kiss to her pink lips. It was gentle and soft. They had a lifetime together, no need to rush into anything. They kissed lazily like they had all the time in the world. Because they did. And when he tasted her on his tongue, he hummed against her, practically purring in delight. He felt her hand slip into his hair, not letting him get away, as if there were any chance of that happening. He was locked in.   
  
He wasn’t entirely sure how it happened, but he swore that when they kissed, really kissed, pixie dust spun around them like something out of a movie. It felt that way at least. The buzz of electricity in the air, the goosebumps on his skin. The feeling of the void in his heart slowly being filled to capacity and then some. It had to be magic.   
  
Eventually, with his appetite mostly satisfied, he pulled away.   
  
Her hooded eyes never left his as he slowly inhaled, letting each and every molecule fill his lungs bit by bit.    
  
And after eighteen years... he was finally whole again. 

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Angel by Finneas. Literally paused it mid-song to write down 500 words.


End file.
